Budget 2026: Top nine announcements the FM made for financial markets in Budget 2025

The government increasing the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector to 100% from 74% earlier was one of the main announcements of Budget 2025. The bill for the same was passed during the parliament’s winter session.

The government had announced the launch of an Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) for Indian states, to “further the spirit of competitive cooperative federalism”.

The 2025 Union Budget introduced the Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0 to decriminalise 100 outdated and minor provisions in various laws to promote ease of doing business.

During the FY26 Budget, the Finance Minister announced that the investment and turnover limits for the classification of all Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) would be revised to 2.5 times and 2 times, respectively.

It also declared it would issue customised credit cards with a ₹5 lakh limit for micro enterprises that were registered on the Udyam portal, adding that it would issue 10 lakh cards in the first year.

The government announced that the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) will set up a ‘Partial Credit Enhancement Facility’ for corporate bonds for infrastructure.

It announced a new Fund of Funds scheme (FFS) for startups with a corpus of ₹10,000 crore.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced Grameen credit score, a framework, to be developed by public-sector banks, for the credit needs of members of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and people in rural areas. As per the government, a Grameen credit score tailored for the credit assessment purposes of SHG borrowers and the rural population would facilitate “better credit assessment, thereby improving access to formal credit not just for SHGs but for the rural population, including farmers and marginalised communities.”

The government said that it would set up a forum for regulatory coordination and development of pension products. In August 2025, a high-level committee, the Forum for Regulatory Coordination and Development of Pension Products, was established.